A few days later, rumors spread throughout the capital that the Lady of the Southern Kingdom had originally favored the Crown Prince and chosen him as her marriage partner, but due to a twist of fate, she entered the palace and was granted the title of Lady of the Southern Kingdom.
During the years the Crown Prince fought in the southern border, he and the Princess of Nanyue were old acquaintances. Although the Crown Prince rejected the Princess of Nanyue's marriage proposal at the state banquet, the Princess of Nanyue had already cuckolded Emperor Shunqing and banished her to the cold palace within a few days of entering the palace. Unable to bear seeing her suffer in the cold palace, he ordered her to be killed.
The idea of showing pity and tenderness is merely a sensationalist interpretation. Many speculate that the Crown Prince was unhappy with her stirring up trouble between father and son in the palace and wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible. Others speculate that the Crown Prince had rendered meritorious service in the war in the southern border, and killing her as a warning to others was to better control the overall situation in the peace talks between the two countries, so that the Southern Yue would cede more benefits and submit to the Crown Prince.
But who knows if this method won't backfire? What if the King of Nanyue gets angry and sends troops, and the six-year war between the two countries ends only to be reignited again? Wouldn't that cause more bloodshed and waste of resources?
Soon, the image of the Crown Prince as arrogant and conceited, disregarding human life, daring to arbitrarily kill even the Emperor's concubines, and intending to provoke conflict between the two countries spread.
Prince Tazaxi of Nanyue immediately came forward to clear the Crown Prince's name, saying that his sister committed suicide out of shame and guilt, and that it had nothing to do with His Highness the Crown Prince. At the same time, he also stated that Nanyue would send another sixth princess to replace the Lady of Nanyue in continuing the marriage alliance with Da Zhou.
His statement quelled many of the rumors, but some people still worry about renewed conflict between the two countries.
After all, South Vietnam feigned surrender last year, which shows that its treacherous intentions have not been extinguished.
This time, a princess was sent for a political marriage, but she died a violent death.
If South Vietnam wanted to start a war, this would be a perfect excuse!
...
Inside the Third Prince's residence, Tazana received a report from a new maid and secretly harbored resentment in her heart.
She waved her hand to dismiss the maid and continued trying on the hairpins and rings beside her.
That day, she feigned death and escaped. Fortunately, her elder brother also regretted accidentally "killing" her and left the palace in haste without confirming her death.
I never expected my elder brother to have such a plan. Since her reputation is ruined anyway, and she can no longer be favored by the emperor in the Great Zhou palace, he might as well kill her and find someone else to marry.
It was none other than the Sixth Princess?
The sixth princess who had always been at odds with her since childhood?
The last time she encountered danger in the southern border of Great Zhou, it was the Sixth Princess who sent people to carry out a vicious attack, but fortunately, she was rescued by Chu Heng. Is she coming to Great Zhou now as well?
Hmph, perfect, let's settle both old and new scores at once!
Even my elder brother dared to poison her. If you are unjust, I will be unjust in return!
And the Empress! The Crown Prince! Oh, and the Crown Prince's sweetheart, that county princess from the Duke's mansion! She won't let any of them go!
The Third Prince walked in and saw that she was putting on a gold hairpin. He stepped forward, took the hairpin, and put it in her hair, saying with a grin, "Ana, you look just as beautiful as a woman from the Great Zhou Dynasty!"
Tazana wrapped her arms around his neck. "Yes! From now on, I'll only dress up for you! Whichever look you like, I'll dress up as that!"
The third prince was overjoyed and kissed her passionately, cupping her face in his hands.
Tazana knew that this man was her only support right now, so she went up to him warmly.
After their lovemaking, Tazana nestled in the man's arms. "My lord," she said, "I have been resurrected. From now on, I must dress as a member of the Great Zhou Dynasty and dare not easily meet outsiders. Why don't you give me a new name?"
The Third Prince nodded, pondered for a moment, and said, "In the warm embrace of the hibiscus-scented tent, amidst the smoke rising from the jade, how about you be called... Jade Hibiscus!"
These past few days, having just experienced love for the first time, all he could think about was the pleasure between a man and a woman, and naturally, he could only come up with such a beautiful line of poetry.
Tazana, unfamiliar with the poetry of the Great Zhou Dynasty, naturally had no objections. "The name Jade Hibiscus is wonderful! Rong'er thanks Your Highness!"
Within a few days, the Third Prince's residence gained a mistress without a title, named Yu Furong, and this news reached the Empress's ears.
The empress was furious and ordered her to be brought into the palace.
However, the Third Prince treated her like a precious jewel, looking at her like the apple of his eye, and refused to let anyone take her away.
The Empress was furious, but there was nothing she could do. She could only secretly speed up the selection process for noble ladies from various families in the capital.
...
Chu Heng and Su Youran, who were being resented by Yu Furong, were naturally unaware that they had gained another enemy.
Both of them were diligently preparing for their master's wedding.
For Su Youran, one was her adoptive mother and the other was her master, both of whom were her closest relatives, so she couldn't be stingy with her respects.
In Chu Heng's view, his monk master, who was over thirty and still a virgin, dared to covet his aunt and even succeeded. This was like a leper monk eating swan meat, so naturally, he had to prepare a grand gift.
It must be said that the marriage between the Imperial Preceptor's Mansion and the Princess's Mansion attracted the attention of various powerful figures.
Everyone knows that Emperor Shunqing ascended the throne at a young age, and the Empress Dowager died early. He and his younger brother, Prince Xuan, and younger sister, the Eldest Princess, supported each other to reach the throne. In the first few years, the younger brother held military power, the younger sister managed the inner palace, and several loyal ministers in the court prevented the Chu dynasty from facing a crisis. Later, to gain the support of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion in the southern border, the Eldest Princess volunteered to marry the Duke's heir, the valiant general of the southern border, thus further stabilizing the border. Unfortunately, Prince Rong's faction in the court strongly opposed this, arguing that the Great Zhou Dynasty had a tradition that a consort could not hold an important position; either the valiant general resigned his military post to marry the princess, or the consort would be replaced.
The prince consort and the princess were childhood sweethearts, and he naturally gave up his important military post to marry the princess. Fortunately, the Duke of Zhenguo was still in the southern border, ensuring the stability of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Unfortunately, a few years ago, the eldest princess's husband died of poisoning while investigating a case for Emperor Shunqing. Emperor Shunqing already doted on and was grateful to this younger sister, and this incident added to his sense of guilt.
Although the eldest princess was a woman and did not openly place any people in the court, she was a true blood relative in the eyes of Emperor Shunqing and was highly valued by him.
This time, her remarriage was by imperial decree from the Shunqing Emperor, and the man she married was the handsome and powerful Imperial Advisor, which shows how much the Shunqing Emperor valued her.
Powerful figures from all sides are scouring the world for rare and precious items to prepare as gifts for the two of them.
Among them were Prince Rong and his heir, who were naturally anxious.
Previously, Prince Rong had tried every means to get close to the Grand Preceptor who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and made extraordinary contributions, but to no avail. He could only spend a lot of money on the seven gourd brothers in front of the Grand Preceptor's mansion in the hope of getting more information about the Grand Preceptor.
Whether the seven gourd brothers were truly foolish or pretending, they took any business that came their way, diligently running their businesses of treating illnesses, catching ghosts, exorcising evil spirits, and fortune telling. However, they never mentioned the National Preceptor, their uncle, or Guigu Mountain. After all, they hadn't graduated yet and weren't considered disciples of Guigu Mountain, so how could they know so much?
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